Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2023 i Robb Report

Michael Strickland A native of Liberal, Kan., Strickland is best known for his large-format landscape prints. For this issue, he rounded up the top cameras to kick-start your analog journey (p. 102). “The resurgence of film photography is fascinating, as it combines realism with a tactile and deliberate approach to capturing moments,” he says. “The allure lies in its tangible results, unpredictability, and the artistic choices it encourages, fostering a deeper connection to the photographic process.” Jason O'Bryan As Robb Report's resident spirits columnist, host of the video series Cocktails for Grown-ups, and cofounder of the virtual cocktail company Drinkwell Co., O'Bryan could be considered somewhat of a libation expert. However, when penning his piece on the century-old art of making Cognac (“Ancestral Spirits,” p. 120), there was one nugget…

in 1853, following two centuries of near complete isolation, a fleet of U.S. Navy ships forced Japan to open to trade at the point of a cannon. Yet certain aspects of the country have always remained off-limits, especially to outsiders and those who don't speak the language. Now, as a result of the economic strain imposed by the country's aggressive Covid-19 border closures, that's finally beginning to change. “The pandemic was tremendously impactful on tourism in Japan, especially in rural areas that relied heavily on it and had few other streams of income,” says Naomi Mano, founder and CEO of Japan-based hospitality and eventsmanagement agency Luxurique. “It motivated the government to take advantage of a huge opportunity when tourism returned. It offered grants to unique venues such as castles, temples,…

You'd think by now Rande Gerber might want to put his feet up. Though the 61-year-old is perhaps best known for founding Casamigos Tequila with George Clooney (the pair met when the actor had a drink at one of the N.Y.C. bars Gerber owned in the 1990s), the Queens-born entrepreneur began working when Ford Models scouted him at age 16. After college, he modeled in Europe for a few years, then took a job selling commercial real estate. It led to his first big break in business: running the watering holes for Ian Schrager's network of boutique hotels. The experience planted the seed for the Gerber Group, which has since opened scads of stylish boîtes across the U.S. Gerber handed the reins to his brother Scott to focus on the…

FOR ART LOVERS, the challenge of penthouse living tends to be too much glass and not enough wall. That's not the case with this 12,000-square-foot 23rd-floor art-gallery-in-the-sky in Florida's West Palm Beach. With its stark-white surfaces, soaring ceilings, and white-marblelined corridors, Penthouse 2302 in the three-year-old Bristol condo tower was designed to house the world-class collection of Boston real-estate mogul Gerald Fineberg. Mr. Fineberg, who passed away last December, reportedly bought the residence as an empty shell in 2019 and configured it with maximum space to display his art. Temporary walls were even built in front of floor-to-ceiling windows, trading million-dollar waterfront views for art installations. While most of the collection was sold in a high-profile Christie's auction in May raising $197 million, the penthouse recently came on the market…

Character Lesson: while the virtues of simplicity and reduced mass are well understood in the context of motorsport, they tend to be less appreciated in street cars, where drivability almost always takes precedence over outright performance. The Lotus Emira, though, delivers both in surprisingly equal measure. Muscular curves and deep side intakes give the Emira a more distinct character than the outgoing Evora GT, without appearing busy, and its ideal mid-engined proportions should elicit fits of jealousy from the designers of the eighth-generation Corvette. In regard to performance competitors, it aligns more closely with Porsche's Cayman GTS. Before even climbing behind the wheel, potential customers might have concerns: The Emira's 400 hp, supercharged 3.5-liter V-6 is slightly less powerful than that of the Evora, and it has a lower redline,…

From November 16 through 18, the world's most elite motorsport series descends upon Nevada's famed desert oasis for the first time in nearly four decades with the Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023. The 3.8-mile street circuit incorporates the iconic Las Vegas Strip, with superstar drivers such as Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, and Fernando Alonso set to compete at estimated speeds of up to 212 mph in the season's penultimate race. Christian Horner, Oracle Red Bull Racing's team principal, has declared that “anybody who is anyone will be at that weekend.” Which begs the question: Do you want to experience the race as just anybody? We thought not. Here, the premier of premier packages to help you see and be seen (or, if preferred, not seen) at…

The Pont Neuf is Paris's oldest bridge, dating back to the 16th century, and this summer, Louis Vuitton claimed it as its own. The brand decked the surface in a golden version of its signature checkerboard Damier motif and ferried some of the world's most starry people—LeBron, Rihanna, DiCaprio, Beyoncé— to the front row in a boat. A gospel choir's rousing benediction filled the air as models, including former Zegna designer Stefano Pilati and rapper Pusha T, sauntered down the runway illuminated by the warm mauve glow of a perfect Parisian sunset. The show closed with a surprise performance by Jay-Z. Vuitton had named Pharrell Williams as its newest men's creative director back in February, but it wasn't until this spectacle of extravagance that his arrival was well and truly…

RENATO RATTI WAS quite literally the man who put Barolo on the map. After purchasing a small plot of land in the commune of La Morra and bottling his debut Barolo in 1965, Ratti drew the first map of Barolo “cru” vineyards, establishing the concept of terroir in the context of Italian wine. Ratti built his namesake winery in 1968 and died, aged 54, in 1988; nearly 30 years later, Renato's son and successor Pietro, recognized for continuing his father's groundbreaking legacy of singlevineyard Barolo wines, acquired what he considers the crown jewel of the family's many holdings: the Cascina Sorello estate, in the southern portion of Serradenari. At over 1,400 feet above sea level, it sits at one of the highest grape-growing elevations in the region. Equally important, it's…

Plugging Into the Past: LUNAZ DESIGN wants to preserve both classic British cars and the environment. To reconcile the two, the restoration house, located next to England's Silverstone Circuit, has converted the former—including a RollsRoyce Silver Cloud and a Phantom V, a Jaguar XK120, an Aston Martin DB6, and a Range Rover Classic—to battery power. Epitomizing the successful marriage of bygone-era icons with zero-emissions technology is a recently completed 1961 Bentley S2 Continental restomod, one of only four two-door sedans bodied by London coachbuilder James Young in period (the whereabouts of the other three are apparently unknown). It's an imposing machine, both sporting and statesmanlike, with broad shoulders supporting an elegant, thin-pillared glasshouse. In place of the factory-installed 6.2-liter V-8, you'll find an 80 kWh battery and two electric motors…

Hovering 10 feet over the ground, I feel like Aladdin on his flying carpet, save for the fact that I'm clutching two joysticks that control every move and I have the advantage of being generally familiar with non-carpet airborne experiences. My seemingly magic ride is courtesy of the Ryse Recon, an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) craft that requires just a 15-minute tutorial that mostly covers how to operate those joysticks—left for altitude; right for speed and direction. Piloting sans pilot's license may sound like a bad idea (not to mention illegal), but here I am, gently making forward progress and fluidly moving side to side while strapped into the single seat, which is designed to withstand a crash generating up to 8 Gs. Within no time, all I…

Once upon a time (i.e., pre-pandemic), yacht adventures to exotic locales were, by and large, enough. But as the lockdowns lifted, expectations around onboard experiences skyrocketed to fit the resurgent YOLO mood, suddenly including everything from curated wine tastings to performances by A-list musicians. The most rarefied and in-demand bookings are the purview of agencies with CIA-level connections, COO-level organizational skills, and a crack team that appreciates how time, rather than money, is the most important currency. Max Whitaker, head of bespoke at Thom Sweeney, says that a yacht actually constitutes a convenient meeting place for a visiting tailor. “A vessel tends to be a secluded, relaxed spot for fitting a suit,” he says. “If someone spends several months on their yacht, we can visit them for multiple fittings—just a…

Portier is a turn in the road familiar to Formula 1 fans, a double righthander that tees up one of the trickier stretches of Monaco's Grand Prix circuit, where drivers tear through a a third of a car's downforce. Portier tunnel whose aerodynamics can sap is where Ayrton Senna famously wrecked late in the race in 1988, after leading for 67 laps, handing victory to rival Alain Prost. But soon, this tiny corner of a tiny country (at 499 acres, it's bested only by Vatican City for the title of Europe's smallest state) will be famous for entirely different reasons. The forest of cranes that have sat on the waterfront in its backyard for more than a decade will vanish next year, heralding the end of a multi-billion-dollar project as…

It might sound slightly blasphemous to visit Spain, the land of paella, pan con tomate, and patatas bravas, and choose to dine on miso soup with a side of algae. But that's my meal one evening at Sha Wellness Clinic, a health resort in Alicante whose terrace restaurant overlooks the Mediterranean Sea. Instead of enjoying it with a glass of rosé, I wash it down with a cup of umeboshi tea, a soupy brew made from the funky, salty Japanese plum that's known to be an antibacterial superfood. The menu isn't part of some newfangled scheme to shed pounds. Rather, the macrobiotic drinks and dishes all have microbiome-boosting properties that alleviate bloating and support gastrointestinal health, the target of the new “gut-health-focused pack.” The weeklong regimen—crammed with specialist consultations, colon…

THE GOODS THIS MONTH'S WHO, WHAT, AND WEAR North Island, or Xuxuga, sits in one of Botswana's prime safari locations, right at the top of the panhandle. The waters of the Okavango Delta slosh through year-round, making the soil rich and damp; riverine forests edge the island, while plush grassland covers the interior of its 302,000 acres. These natural assets keep it teeming with game, especially predators such as leopards, cheetahs, and lions. Each year, 18,000 or so elephants trample through, following a corridor that stretches up to Angola, and the area's waters are consistent enough that mokoro trips—silent glides along the Delta in the local canoe-style boat, spying more than 450 different bird species—are also a staple. No wonder that luxe-safari operator Natural Selection, a Botswana specialist, eyed this…

RESIDENCE CLUBS KEY PLAYERS: Timbers Resorts, Pacaso BEST FOR: Traditional second homers The earliest incarnation of luxury fractional residences was this model, which derives from the time-share concept. Think of it more like a plug-and-play second home for your annual vacation. Typically, a residence-club developer will build several properties in a desirable, wellknown location—Hawaii, perhaps, or Tuscany— bundling ample services and amenities alongside the units. It will then sell the right to stay there for several weeks per year to multiple shared owners, who each receive a deeded interest in that specific unit. Some schemes allow you to trade those weeks with other owners, but you'll usually return to the same property repeatedly. DESTINATION CLUBS KEY PLAYERS: Inspirato, Exclusive Resorts BEST FOR: Adventure-minded younger families The destination club emerged a…

DREAM MACHINES A DEVOTION TO MOTION Succession Story: Aston Martin DB12 More than two centuries after French emperor Bonaparte's ill-fated advance from the Côte d'Azur to Waterloo, the impact of British firepower is once again reverberating through the region—this time in the form of the new Aston Martin DB12 bombing along Europe's Route Napoléon. While Aston recognizes that a new source of propulsion is ascendant within the industry, promising to deliver an all-electric vehicle by 2025, the marque has been holding fast to the internal-combustion engine, as evidenced by its recent release of the 12-cylinder DBS 770 Ultimate and now the DB12 grand tourer, successor to the DB11 introduced in 2016. Under the DB12's expansive hood is a reworked version of the familiar 4.0-liter V-8 that was, until lately, the…

on approach to the demanding Curva Ferrari turn at the Circuito de Jerez track in Spain, Triumph's latest iteration of the Street Triple 765 RS is singing its 130 hp song with full throat as the raceinspired geometry helps it effortlessly flick through the successive right-handers. Small, light, and oh-so-British in its sublime build quality, this might be the most underrated sports naked bike on the market today. For starters, the $12,845 RS variant—part of a model line that includes the base R and the limited-edition Moto 2—has had its horsepower boosted by 7 percent compared with its 2020 predecessor, and makes 59 ft lbs of torque at 9,500 rpm. And its low-end torque is mated perfectly to its top-end power, all paired with a disarmingly smooth throttle response. The…

what do an extended wildlife safari through Asia and Africa, chasing a solar eclipse across both American continents, and a worldwide whiskey-tasting tour have in common? The rarefied air of a curated private-jet charter, the newest form of immersive, globe-trotting escape—local experts and insider access very much included—from a handful of exclusive providers. Aman Southeast Asia Departing November 5, this 10-day journey explores Southeast Asia with stays at Aman Resorts enclaves in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. The trip begins at the Amanoi hotel and beach resort, set against the natural beauty of Vietnam's Vinh Hy Bay and Nui Chua National Park. All flights are aboard an Airbus AC319 fitted with two cocktail lounges and just 19 seats (rather than the 130-passenger commercial configuration). Plus, you'll have your own vehicle,…

WHEN OCEANGATE'S Titan lost contact with the surface on June 18, the missing sub created a global media frenzy as rescuers rushed to locate and save its five passengers before their oxygen ran out. It was eventually determined that the sub had imploded, prompting widespread criticism of not only Titan's unorthodox—and uncertified— construction, but also of the very notion of sending tourists 12,500 feet down to the remains of the RMS Titanic at $250,000 per head. Months after the accident, two questions remain: How will the tragedy impact the personalsubmersible industry? And what kind of regulations will result? There are approximately 100 such submersibles in use today, with models ranging from U-Boat Worx's $500,000 Nemo to deep-diving specialty subs costing tens of millions of dollars and users running the gamut…

Duck under a low beam and step into the blackness of Vallein Tercinier's ancient cellar, and for a moment, your muscles tighten instinctively: It's the type of close yet cavernous space where you might expect to encounter a hibernating bear. As your pupils struggle to adjust, the only indication of the room's purpose is the unmistakable angel's share, the ambrosial aroma of Cognac, hanging in the damp air and coating your lungs with every breath. The proprietor, Stéphane Roudier, is apologetic, first for the appearance of his aging stillhouse, then for the lack of heating in this unseasonably cold winter. “We have no investors,” he explains. “There's no money.” He and his wife, Catherine Tercinier-Roudier, own and operate Cognac Vallein Tercinier, as her family has since 1850. She is the…

“Attitude—and a fashionably relaxed mindset— is the secret to wearing clothes like these. The comfort and quality put me at ease.” “I like a natural color palette and wear monochrome a lot. I tend to stick to no more than two textures in an outfit: a cashmere overshirt and corduroy trousers, for example.” “Proportion and fit are all-important. I've learned that from designers and tailors over the last 20 years.” “My most valuable hacks: Get your trousers hemmed so they fit right, avoid anything too tight, and align your color palette. And don't overthink it—a dark-navy suit never fails.” “I developed my own style with inspirations from movies, from friends and family members, and from what I see when I travel the world for work.” model: Johannes Huebl SENIOR MARKET…